Supernatural 10 Things About Dean Winchester That Have Aged Poorly

Supernatural: 10 Things About Dean Winchester That Have Aged Poorly

From his habit of punching his younger brother to his many rage-induced meltdowns, Supernatural’s Dean Winchester might not be today’s breakout hero.

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The changing landscape of the television industry and evolving mindset of viewers has altered the context with which shows are perceived. The CW’s Supernatural is no exception here, with several aspects of the dark fantasy series appearing in a negative light either to those who rewatch the show or new viewers who didn’t follow Supernatural when it first aired.

Dean Winchester is generally considered to be the most popular character from the series, with Jensen Ackles’ portrayal seen as an iconic part of TV history by the fans. However, Dean’s decisions and the way he carried himself have perhaps aged the worst in the latest era of TV, and it’s interesting to see things about him that won’t fly today.

10 The Way He Sometimes Treats Women As Disposable

Dean had plenty of love interests over the years and he was very good to the likes of Lisa and Cassie, whom he was genuinely in love with. However, Dean stayed away from falling for someone and preferred to have casual affairs during his hunting trips.

It was fine with women who agreed with such an arrangement, but Dean broke the hearts of high school flame Amanda, fellow hunter Jo Harvelle, and several others that he left. The bad boy trope is no longer seen as charming by viewers, so many new fans have noted Dean’s actions as insensitive and disrespectful toward women whom he essentially charmed for the wrong reasons.

9 Dean’s Smothering Hold Over Sam At Times

There’s a certain level of ownership that could be seen in the relationship from the elder brother to the younger, and Dean even betrayed Sam several times in Supernatural that he remained unapologetic about. Dean was so fixated with wanting everything to be about him and Sam as a pair that the latter felt he was obligated to be with his brother all forever.

Fans have noted in rewatches that Sam did deserve to have a life of his own as he wanted and Dean was smothering him with his entitlement toward being with Sam. It’s also aged badly because today’s viewers value independence over codependency, and Dean was heavily reliant on Sam’s presence in his life.

8 His Destructive Anger Issues

At the time when the show started, it was normal to see alpha-male mentality protagonists let their anger consume them and violent outbursts were considered cool. Nowadays, people consider taking responsibility to be a bigger factor, making Dean’s rage issues seem in bad taste.

Dean had the tendency to blame everyone around him when he got mad, such as telling Castiel he was dead to him when Mary disappeared even though Castiel had nothing to do with. He also attacked the Impala out of anger when John died, and fans these days would rather see Dean consider anger management over such outbursts that also seem immature.

7 Certain Characteristics That He Deems To Be Unmanly

The idea of what constitutes masculinity has majorly shifted in recent times, and macho behavior is considered an archaic mindset. Dean belongs to the time when aggression was seen as the prime manly trait, because of which he had the habit of mocking Sam for being in touch with his emotions.

Sam is the character that audiences today identify with more due to his openness to be vulnerable, whereas Dean comes across as a person in denial over what makes someone a man. Even his distaste for music other than classic rock bands seems more like an attempt to be manly rather than it actually being the case.

6 Dean’s Hypocrisy Toward Sparing People He Wants To & Judging Others Who Don’t

There were times when Dean seemed like Supernatural’s true villain, especially by the later seasons. Dean was known to judge people based on decisions he considered to be wrong, only to then do the same thing when he was put in the same position.

He openly derided the husband who traded his soul to save his wife’s life, yet made the exact move when Sam was killed. Dean scolded Amara for not stepping up to help them fight Chuck despite the fact that he planned to kill her along with Chuck. Dean’s hypocrisy is more striking now that the series can be binge-watched in full, and both new and old fans can spot this glaring flaw.

5 Dean’s Tendency To Mock Supernatural Fans

Supernatural fans tend to go wild over any kind of criticism they might receive, even toward the show’s actors. Within the show, Dean wasn’t a fan of Chuck’s fictionalized Supernatural books that garnered a strong fandom and would insult anyone who enjoyed the series.

Real-life followers of the show have built up a huge amount of fan fiction, and become an incredible community unto themselves. Watching episodes where Dean calls out fan-created subtexts as fake generally don’t sit well with viewers these days because they feel insulted where earlier it was seen as a joke.

4 Dean’s Excuses Toward John’s Parenting

Quite a few of Dean’s saddest quotes in Supernatural are related to his recollection of times spent with John, whom he continued to see as a good father. While John definitely loved Dean and canonically never outright mistreated his son, fans’ opinion of him has majorly diminished in the years since John’s demise.

To this end, viewers are unimpressed with Dean’s excuses over why John was a good father, as fans largely focus on how John trained Dean to be a hunter when he was only 5-years-old. The rise of awareness around children growing up in hostile environments has also led to fans speculating that Dean is in denial over John’s bad parenting.

3 Dean’s Habit Of Treating Castiel As A Pushover

While the majority of the fanbase is convinced that Dean and Castiel were in love, it’s also become glaring to them how Dean mistreats the angel. He would boss Castiel around all the time, to the point where he kicked Castiel out of the bunker without even giving him a reason.

Viewers today don’t enjoy one-sided relationships and want to see dynamics where each character earns the love of the other. Dean’s bad behavior toward Castiel makes the latter out to be sympathetic while Dean himself seems like more of a jerk.

2 Dean’s Lack Of Character Development In Later Seasons

There’s no doubt that Supernatural taught some valuable life lessons through Dean in the earlier seasons about family and love, but the character became repetitive in later seasons. The rise of streaming shows with minimal episodes has made viewers used to constant character development over filler episodes, so Dean comes across as a stagnant person.

He kept repeating the same mistakes in the show’s latter half, such as trusting the wrong people, blaming his own friends, and resorting to drinking his troubles away. Fans who followed Dean on a weekly basis found him compelling, but the ones who binge-watch the series now might feel he’s just going through the motions.

1 Dean’s Habit Of Punching Sam When He’s Enraged

Making things physical was considered a “manly” character trait for someone like Dean back in the day, as he would punch people who ticked him off. Sam was the person who got punched the most, with Dean knocking him down at least once a season, usually out of annoyance rather than an actual conflict between them.

Viewers today don’t take kindly to physical abuse, especially when it’s dished out by an older sibling to their younger one. Dean’s habit now appears to be rash and mean-spirited, with Sam coming across as something of a victim who didn’t have it in him to stand up to his dominating brother.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/supernatural-dean-winchester-traits-story-arc-age-poorly/

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